It’s been a while since my last post—I promise I haven’t been abducted by aliens or locked away in the practice room (though some days it feels like it!).
This time I’ve been working on a true classic: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out. I saw Clapton perform it live at the Royal Albert Hall back in May — one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Unluckily, I’m nowhere close to that level, but I’ve done it my way (to quote another all-time classic ).
What I’m sharing is just a partial performance, and for the first time I’ve tried to add in a solo section. Let’s just say it was more “don’t trip over your own fingers” than Clapton-level smoothness.
I’d really appreciate your feedback, especially on timing during the soloing. That’s an area I know I need to tighten up, so any tips, tricks, or friendly nudges would be super helpful.
Thanks for listening—and it’s great to be back sharing something here again. This community always gives me the boost I need to keep learning and improving.
Really enjoyed ytour version, Andres. I think you are well on the way. I can’t offer any specific comment on the actual timing of the solos. My immediate sense would be that you are at the stage of getting the solos under the fingers, as they say. And with more practice you’ll be able to play with more feel. I think playing it solo as in without accompaniment, means it is probably OK to be a little loose with the timing (obviously not sloppy) but adding some dynamics in volume, and letting some note ring a little longer, perhaps a little vibrato with bring emotion to the solo.
Well played Andy! 0ne of my favourites from the Layla album. I thought you managed to capture the swing feel of the acoustic version really well.
I was watching one of Clapton’s performances to see what he did live - I noticed that the bass player and drummer on the HiHat stepped in during the solo part - very quietly but I’m sure it helped with the timing. You could try having a metronome or some other click track just at a very low volume to make sure the timing doesn’t drift whilst you’re practicing.
I think David’s suggestion of using dynamics is also good - in the solo you could emphasize the notes at the beginnings of the bars to give the listener a sense of the timing.
Your playing the rhythm part really well. You should have some sort of clicktrack, perhaps via headphones to help nail the timing of the solos. You are playing quite a bit of them faster than the accompaniment that comes before. Overall, a good performance.
@DavidP Thanks, David — I’m really trying to get a feel for the dynamics and the vibrato. As you say, it takes time to slowly get “under the fingers.” I hope to add more “feeling” to the solo bit by bit.
@twistor59 Thanks, Phil — I’ll definitely keep the metronome going (I used it before but not during the recording). Trying to play along really showed me what a master Mr. Clapton is when it comes to rhythm, embellishments, and dynamics — tough to crack for me as a solo beginner. I’ll also try your tip with a slowed-down backing track (he never plays it quite the same way twice — sometimes faster, sometimes slower in different concerts).
@Willsie Thanks, John — happy you liked it! I’ll keep working on this one. I’ve been playing it at different difficulty levels for a while, and there always seems to be something new to add or learn.
@beejay56 Thanks, Brian — I always feel I’m too slow in the solo part, which somehow makes me speed up. Still working on keeping it steady!
@sairfingers Thanks, Gordon! It is so much fun to play this song!
@DeltaTyne Thanks, Hec — such a beautiful tune and a real joy to play.
@GrytPipe Thanks, GrytPipe — glad you listened in!
It’s really encouraging to get all your feedback and tips. This community makes practicing and sharing so much more rewarding — thanks everyone for listening and supporting the journey!
I can remember one of your performance some time ago, I was really happy you shared with us your playing… seems like you are doing well on journey.
I think this is really great performance… for the bonus, I got Claptons version in my car and I listen to this everyday when I drive highway, so it is really fresh thing for me.
One day I plan to learn this too, I really love Paul Davids approach to this tune. He has tutorial for that and then explain the theory behind that, if you are interested into digging little bit more.
Thank you again for sharing this, you are playing and singing great.
It is man, it reminds me of how, even though I am retired now, it is still hard to find the time to practice man because of other musical factors. I just haven’t finished, man. arghhhh it’s crazy man cheers HEC
So nice to see another of your covers Andreas! And such an old favourite, too, I never get tired of listening to this song and your version is very enjoyable! Love the swing you have especially in the strummed sections!
You’ve aksed for some feedback, and most things should sort themselves out over time anyway, but here are a couple of things you could consider:
There is a difference in dynamics between you strumming and the licks and solo parts. The strummed parts are so much louder than the solo parts, and that makes the solo and parts come across instantly as “shy” and “not confident”. And that amplifies every little bit that is not perfect-perfect yet in the solo. Try and switch it around in practise: play the strumming as quietly as you can and really dial it up in volume for the licks and solo - and see how that changes how you feel when playing it.
you’ve got such a good swing in the strumming - try and bring that into the lead parts. Something that could help is put accents on the runs and really overdue it in practise - accent the first note of every triplet and align it with the beat and the others - well they are just second fiddle. You could even strip down the lead lines to just notes on the beats and once you can play these in time then you start adding back the other notes you have dropped. Let me know if this makes no sense and I explain this more. Main idea is to reduce the lead line to something simpler that you CAN play in time and then you add a little bit of complexity at a time without loosing the beat. And you add the complexity in baby step by baby step.
You seem to be playing the lead times with just the thumb - well, that’s how the man himself plays it but he has had decades of practise. Mere mortals like us generally get lead lines smoother and more even by using more than one finger and alternate between thumb and index finger. If you have never done this before it’ll feel awkward at first (like alternate picking with a pick) but worth giving a try.
Hello Andres, I found your performance to be overall very enjoyable. As regards timing during the soloing I hear parts that go smooth and parts that might require more work…but WOW anyway, I can only imagine how much commitment it’s taking to bring it to this level! I much enjoyed the consistent sound of strumming, the way you hit the strings.
@DeltaTyne It is a journey - I see it that way: as long as i enjoy what i can play today (at least sometimes ) it is the right track I am on wherever it will lead me - (many) others will do better but that is fine
@MollyT This great feedback - I will try the trick with the first note on the beat and adding other stuff later. I should also adjust the picking fingering - will try that. Thanks for the hint . Will come back to you for sure.
@Silvia80 Thanks Silvia - i come back to this song to enhance every once a while but play it for some years (oh my gosh - time flies…) and even the solo i pickup time and again to progress - one of my go to songs so to speak. Really glad you like it !
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